THE CLOCKHOUSE BRIDGE CLUB

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting
Thursday 6th October 2022

1    ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES
The meeting started at 18.15.
Present were Mike Welton (Chair), Richard Lowther (Treasurer), Penny Jann (Secretary), Manon Baldock, Josie Craig, Frances Cousins, Joyce & Martin Dennison, Marie Faulkner, Pat Gregory-Carlton, Michael Hartnall, Maggie McCune, Jane Milton, Brian Morrison, Angela Paterson, Ray Ross, Penny Shawyer, Doug & Nina Smit, Joan Stenson, Mike Valmas, John Wells, Alison Welton, Leon & Nicky Wynne,
Apologies were received from Christine & Christopher Bell, Jessica Buckle, Helen Dean, Barbara Doyle-Davidson, Monica Fisher, Barbie & Philip Kitchen, Sharyn Nash, Jeanne Penny, Davina Puckle, Andrew Scott-Plummer and Antoinette Williams.

2    MINUTES OF LAST AGM
The last AGM took place on 30th May 2019. There had not been an AGM in 2020 or 2021  due to Covid restricting face-to-face play. It was therefore agreed to take the previous AGM minutes as read.

3    MATTERS ARISING
There were no matters arising.

4    ANNUAL REPORT
The Clockhouse Bridge Club Report to August 31st 2022 including the periods 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 had been circulated by email to all members prior to the meeting. Presenting his report, Mike Welton said increasing the current membership of 57 is the most important issue for the club. The club has advertised in local magazines and ask that all members seek new recruits able to play to a reasonable standard. Ideally the club would like at least 20 people to join this year. Martin Dennison asked how much Age UK Surrey needed the club and it was noted that there was a shared need and also that Mike has a good relationship with the manager. The report ended with thanks to the Clockhouse for their continued support, particularly the manager and new caretaker, to the committee, directors and scorers for all the administration, to Josie for setting up the evenings and Frances for the tea and biscuit arrangements, and to our auditor Brian.

5    TREASURER’S REPORT
Richard Lowther tabled two documents: the Income & Expenditure Account year ended 31st August 2022 and the Balance Sheet as at 31st August 2022. The change to the year end of the club from March to 1st August was done in order for the financial year to be commensurate with the club’s playing seasons. For the 17 months ended 31st August 2021 there were few expenses due to playing on-line. For the year ended 31st August 2022 the club did not collect a full subscription. It was noted that hire of the room accounts for 85% of outgoings. Looking forward the club has paid the Clockhouse for the year which could help in future negotiations. In summary the club is in a reasonable financial position with some reserves in place. The accounts had been audited by Brian Morrison. The accounts were unanimously approved.

6    ELECTION OF COMMITTEE
The committee members were re-elected en masse for a further year, there being no other nominations.
The Committee 2022-23:
Chair: Mike Welton                                       Joyce Dennison
Treasurer: Richard Lowther                        Penny Shawyer
Secretary: Penny Jann                                 Josie Craig
Membership Secretary: Jane Milton
    
7     ANY OTHER BUSINESS
7.1    Marie Faulkner had prior to the meeting asked for three points to be considered: earlier start and earlier finish, a rota of members to provide partners for new members and those without a partner, and a better way of re-dealing the cards. Mike Welton had agreed with Marie that a questionnaire would be sent to all members very shortly. However if someone needs to leave as soon as play has finished then they can go.
7.2    Leon Wynne asked whether the club would consider having pre-dealt hands. There is a cost to doing this and it was felt that at this time it would be preferable to continue our current arrangement. However the club could re-consider if members thought the club was behind the times.
7.3    Joyce asked if members wanted to go back to having cumulated prizes once or twice a year. With less members it was agreed not to reinstate these at the current time.
7.4    A number of members were thanked for their hard work and support for the club including Mike Welton who had done very well in negotiating with the Clockhouse, Josie Craig who arrives early and sets everything out, and Joyce Dennison for all her input.

The meeting closed at 18.55.

Penny Jann
Secretary

We, like many organisations had a difficult period during various lockdowns. However, thanks very largely due to the efforts of Leon Wynne, those of us who wished were able to play online when not able to meet face to face.

Since then, we have been able to progressively return to face to face bridge at the Clockhouse, albeit with no caretaker nor kitchen facilities. As you know, the directors must go through a cumbersome process of entry and closure whilst preserving the operation of the security system. We do now have the facility to make tea and coffee using our own cups and there will be re-introduction of biscuits.

Before lockdown we had 100 members with a waiting list for some years. We are now reduced to 66 members currently and are seeking new people to join. To that end we are advertising in two local magazines and would also encourage all members to introduce new recruits where they can. Should several possible new members feel uncertain about duplicate bridge we will consider taster sessions before next September. Clearly people will have to be able to play bridge to a reasonable standard, but we can help with procedures, rules etc.

Owing to the period of uncertainty we have attempted to create a financial buffer to see us through. We have achieved this by “pulling our horns in” in various ways. However, with the reduction in membership we could not sustain the original payments to the Clockhouse and have currently negotiated a reduction in rent. With that in place we are able to keep subscriptions at the same level.

We have agreed to have two sessions per week for July, and Thursdays only in August. The new session will start on Thursday 1st September and the much-delayed AGM is provisionally set for Thursday 6th October.

Currently, we have a sufficient number of directors and scorers and would ask you to note that if you have no partner on an evening, where the director is marked with a “P” then you ring Josie (07775 883902) who will kindly try and match you with another member. On evenings where the director is not marked with a “P”  you can attend alone and be guaranteed a game.

We have endured a difficult period but are now approaching normality so I would encourage all members to re-join with confidence and try to bring along as many new people as possible.

Many Thanks,

Mike Welton

Please note that it is important the club has correct information (address, phone numbers and email address) for members so contact can be made if required. You must also check the "Opt Ins" are as you wish them to be for the display of your personal data in the members only section. It is the responsibility of members to make sure this data is correct, and kept up to date via the website.

Before you use the "Members Only" area you will have to be a member and have an e-mail known to the system. 

1. First click on the "Members Only" button on the Home Page (on the top right of the page), or on Membership then Members Area on the menu on the left of the page.
2. Then click on the "Set/Reset Password" button on the "Member Login" page.
3. Enter your e-mail.
4. Within a few minutes the system will e-mail you a link to set/reset your password. This link will only last for 24 hours, so please do this as soon as you can. If the link expires then go back to step 1 to request another.

The "Members Only" section has 7 Tabs.

A "Find a Partner" Tab.

Allows members to find a playing partner. This isn't currently used by any members club but could be.

A "Messages" Tab.

This page allows you to see messages entered by other members and enter your own message, for example "I am looking for a lift to the club next Tuesday".

Messages can be created quickly using one of the system generated messages or you can enter your own. You can also set how long a message should stay there for. 

A "Members" Tab.

This provides the email and phone number for all current members who haven't opted out.

A "Ranking" Tab

Gives the EBU ranking of any members who are members of the EBU. The club isn't affiliated so not many names will appear here.

An "NGS Grades" Tab

EBU National Grading Scheme. The club isn't affiliated to the EBU.

An "Accounts" Tab

The "Accounts" Tab allows users to check and change their details. This information remains in the "Members Only" section and is not accessible by the general public.

There are multiple opt-in options to determine which items of your personal data will be displayed on the website:

• Opt-In Show in Lists - details will not be shown in any Member list
• Opt-In Bulk Email - your email will not be included in any Bulk Email
• Opt-In Show Email - your email address will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Phone - your phone number will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Mobile - your mobile will not show in any list
• Opt-In Show Rank etc. - EBU/ACBL Rank, NGS or Master Points will not show in any list

A "Download" Tab

This Tab allows members who have registered and are logged on to download information from the web site to their own computer. This is included in the "Members Only" because the information is actually sent by email, so that you have a copy in your inbox. And you can move it from there to any directory of your choice.

At present, you can download results in 2 formats

• Web Page - The results are made available as a single HTML file, which means that they can be opened and read just as on the website. This can be useful for members with Dial Up connection to the internet, but is not of so much interest to those with a broadband connection, where access to the Internet is permanent and does not interfere with the phone line. You can send the file to yourself and then review the information on your PC offline at leisure.

• Results file - This can be used to retrieve Results files for use either as backup or on to a master copy of results for club use. You can select several results to be sent in one email. The results files are in a special format for use by the Scorebridge program, so you will not be able to read them directly. This feature is more for Scorers.

The files will be sent via email to the address of the person logged in (indicated on the screen) when you click the Send button.